Barbie

Director: Greta Gerwig

19 July 2023

See

Him: Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) dwells in Barbieland, resplendent in the belief that the blissful carefree and pollyanna in all her variations. She and her counterparts are living their best lives in their belief that their mere existence is not only as archetypes but they’ve also solves all the real worlds problems. Ken (Ryan Gosling) plays second fiddle and is an accessory to be used and called upon, his purpose for being is to be with Barbie.

Her: Barbie by Greta Gerwig. When the most stereotypical Barbie in the Barbieland starts to fail, she goes into the real to find the girl who caused it and prevent further destruction.

Think

Him: The subversion of the make believe is what I expected of Greta Gerwig as a talented director of Little Women and Lady Bird. But it was her starring in Frances Ha which was my favourite of her turns. That film was directed by Noah Baumbach, her husband, and co-writer of Barbie. The fantasy of Barbieland collapses, thinking the root of the problem is in the real world where a girl and her mother (America Ferrera) no longer believe in Barbie. She starts to become a real girl. Thinking of death. Feet firmly on the ground.

Her: I think this film is good enough to be written into the film history for a few different reasons: it became iconic before it was even released, it’s going to be a box office hit, it’s a great commentary on a modern society told through a glossy Barbie-pink picture. I think there was no better way to tell the story of Barbie today. Lastly, I think commercially it will beat Oppenheimer in the box office.

Feel

Him: Ken’s predicament of being a supporting character to Barbie but feeling powerful in the world world and bringing back the patriarchy was masterful. I was surprised to enjoy the climax of the absurd Ken battle without violence, slapstick comedy goes only so far, nothing left to do but dance. 

Her: I like how Greta Gerwig brought Barbie to life on screen. Keeping the character true to its prototype, she flipped the meanings multiple times during the film. The idea of Barbieland being a mirror of our society is genious and it’s also well executed. I don’t think it deserves a palm d’or or even the main Oscar because it’s just not a festival kind of film. It’s a film that found its audience way before the release and did not disappoint, which is very rare these days.